


The Curse and the Gypsy

by nitro777



Category: Neko no Ongaeshi | The Cat Returns
Genre: Also a bit of beauty and the beast, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Please leave a comment and tell me what you think, Strong Language, Tags May Change, its a mix of sleeping beauty bluebeard and some other stories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27191713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nitro777/pseuds/nitro777
Summary: Stella was nervous, angry, and scared, but she had to do this or her poor sister Yuki would have taken her place, going to a mansion where none of the young women were sent to came back.
Relationships: Baron Humbert von Gikkingen/Yoshioka Haru, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Prince Lune/Yuki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. The curse and the gypsy. Chapter 1 the agreement

The curse and the gypsy. Chapter 1 the agreement

Stella was nervous, angry, and scared, but she had to do this or her poor sister Yuki would have taken her place, going to a mansion where none of the young women were sent to came back.

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It was a beautiful warm afternoon in the city of Alorious. The church bells had rung for noon a couple of hours ago. On the cobblestone street, a young woman was on her way home from getting groceries, among other things in the basket hanging from the crook of her arm. There was bread cheese, a pound of potatoes, and a whole chicken. All of a sudden, a voice called out to her. "Stella, Stella, dearie." "Stella turned around so fast that her ponytail hit her in the face. When she had gotten her hair out of her face and out of her mouth. She looked in the direction from where the voice came from. It was Miriam, the wife of the fabric yarn and stitching store owner. "Oh, good morning, Miriam, now why did you call me over and nearly made me swallow my own hair?"

Stella said with a chuckle. Miriam chuckled too before replying. "Oh, nothing much. I just thought you and your sisters would like to have these." As she then showed her a small basket filled with rolls of thread in so many different colors, some even with a metallic shine to them. "Oh my goodness, Miriam, they are gorgeous." Stella exclaimed before replying. "but are you sure? I mean, won't your husband get angry that you're giving supplies from his shop away?"

Miriam, at this point, gently took Stella's hand and looked upon it. "Do you know what I see when I see your hands?" Miriam asked as she stroked her thumb over the light brown skin on the back of Stella, s hand. Stella sighed. "The thieving hand of a gypsy, that's what all the sons of the councilmen say when they think I can't hear them." Miriam scoffed. "Bah, those old coots and their brats can say what they want." She then looked at Stella's hands again. "No, what I see when I look at your hands, I see bits of dirt under the nails, from you not being afraid of working in your garden's soil. I see and feel callouses on your fingers and hands from working hard with your sisters to make quilts, just like dear Naoko, who took you in all those years ago. I feel the warmth from these hands as if I held my hands up in front of a fireplace." Miriam said she then looked at Stella and continued. "These hands, together with those of your sisters, made the quilt that saved my grandsons' life last winter. He would have frozen to death and joined his dear mother, rest her soul if it hadn't been for you three.

So this is my way of saying thank you, and to answer your question earlier, my husband knows, in fact, he helped me choose these from the newest supplies we have on stash." Stella looked up, surprised, "he, he did?" She whispered. Miriam smiled before nodding and replying. "He did. He and I have known dear Naoko since she was a little girl, and though we all miss her greatly. we have both seen her take care of all three of you, you Haru and Yuki may not be sisters of blood but of emotions and memories you are, don't ever doubt that." Stella smiled as she took the basket.

"Thank you, Miriam, that really means a lot to my sisters and me," Stella said and gave her a gentle smile. Miriam smiled back and started walking back home. Stella turned around and resumed walking home herself. She was now one corner away from seeing her neighborhood when she heard a loud commotion. A female could be heard yelling.

"LET HER GO. SHE DOSENT WANT TO GO."

Stella recognized that voice as Haru,s. She started running towards where the sounds were coming from when she finally turned the last corner to her neighborhood. She saw a black carriage in front of the house Stella recognized as her home, Stella immediately ran towards it. She then saw a big burly man come out of the entrance of her home. But it was who he dragged out with him that made that protective side of her come out.

Dressed in a pink shirt and black corset with a brown skirt with a slight food-stained apron. With platinum blonde and crystal blue eyes that were currently welling up with tears as she desperately tried to get her arm free from the man's grasp, it was Yuki. Dear sweet, kind and gentle Yuki, behind her, another man came out with a small bag under his arm. He was a bit slower than the other. The reason for that was that right behind him.

Wearing a blue skirt with a white apron, a brown corset, and a green shirt. Short brown hair and holding onto his tunic, preventing him from leaving or at least trying to. Was her other sister Haru, her brown eyes filling up with tears of anger. She cried out for anyone to help.

Stella immediately started running towards the man who was standing in front of the carriage and was about to throw Yuki into the wagon and bodyslammed into him so hard he fell to the ground. Stella, who managed to stay standing, turned to Yuki, who flung herself into her arms and held onto her for dear life. Haru, having seen it all, let go of the other man and ran up to them and hugged Yuki from behind. As Stella started stroking Yuki's hair in a desperate attempt to calm her down, the other man had dropped the bag and walked over to help his buddy up, who was groaning in pain.

Then a third man came out of the carriage. Where the two big men were wearing simple tunics and pants, the man who now stood in front of the three girls was wearing a steward uniform, the emblem of the town mayor on his chest. He looked first to the two men, one of them holding the other up. And then turned towards Stella Haru and Yuki with disdain in his eyes. He was clearly oozing arrogance. "What seems to be the problem here." He sneered coldly. Stella turned to face him.

"The problem here, sir, is that these two brutes tried taking away my sister by force with you just standing there without giving a good reason."

Stella said sternly, Yuki still trembling in her arms. All of a sudden, she heard Yuki whisper something. Stella froze up and turned to her. "What did you say?" Stella asked. This made Yuki break down crying. "I WAS CHOSEN, Stella. I was chosen." Yuki cried out for everyone in the neighborhood to hear. Stella was shocked when she heard this. She quickly turned towards the steward and hissed,

"Listen, if this has anything to do with what happened last week. Then in my and Yuki's defense, that jerk asked for it. He should just have accepted that Yuki said no, but he didn't. Instead, he tried to take her by force, and for that, I broke his nose." the man replied, "you do realize that the man you hit was none other than the grandson of one of the councilmen."

"I DONT CARE IF HE WAS THE CROWN PRINCE HIMSELF NO MEANS NO" Stella roared right back in his face making him flinch, and for a moment, Stella saw fear in his eyes. the man, however, quickly composed himself and replied coldly. "Like it or not, your sister has been chosen, so either she goes, or the whole town will face grave misfortune."

"Yuki is still recovering from a high fever she had two weeks ago. She needs me and haru to make sure the illness doesn't come back." Stella said back. The man smiled cruelly at this and said. "Well, all the better. The mayor did say that we should weed out the weak ones if the sacrifice won't go, and the town suffers."

Stella and Haru gasped at this, and Stella felt her rage reaching a boiling point, "why you little arrogant piece of..." Stella hissed, but before she could jump at the guy and beat his ass, she felt Yuki,s grip around her tighten "don't do it Stella," Yuki whispered, "you'll get in trouble if you do it." Stella took a deep breath before replying with a sigh.

"you and I both know that you're not healthy enough, Yuki. You won't survive staying in that place." "I KNOW THAT," Yuki cried out, "I know that, but the whole town will suffer if I don't go, and if I don't go, who will?" Stella was quiet for a few moments. She then made a decision, turned her face towards the steward, and said "then I'll go." "Excuse me." the man said. "I said, then ill go. I will go in my sister's place." Stella repeated as she looked at the man with hate in her eyes. The man humphed before saying.

"Fine, I'll agree to your little deal, so get ins..." "I wasn't done." Stella interrupted. "I want to gather MY belongings together and say goodbye to my sisters, which will take a while, at least until tomorrow afternoon. And you seem to have an injured henchman to get to a doctor." Stella said with a smirk as the steward turned to look at the two men, one of them still holding the other up who was still groaning in pain. "So, if you'll excuse me, I need to get my sisters inside."

She then gently pushed haru and Yuki towards their home, as the steward went into the carriage before saying. "As I said ill agree to your little deal, but if you are not done saying goodbye and getting your stuff together by tomorrow afternoon. Your youngest sister will pay the price."

Stella looked over her shoulder and gave a small nod. She then looked down and saw the bag that the man had dropped earlier to help his buddy. She picked it up and took a look inside it. "And just, so you know, you two." She said, causing the two other men who were about to get into the carriage to stop in their tracks.

"None of the things in this bag belongs to Yuki. This is why I want to gather My belongings so that this doesn't happen again. Are we clear, you two?" Stella said sternly, as she turned to look at the two men who seemed a little nervous. They both then nodded and went inside the carriage.

Stella then looked at the coachman who had kept himself out of this whole debacle. He clicked his tongue at the horses, causing them and the carriage to start moving and ride away over the cobblestones, towards the doctor's house. She then walked up to the front door, took a deep breath, and went inside. The moment the door closed behind her, Haru and Yuki ran up to her, yelling in each other's mouths.

"STELLA, ARE YOU INSANE. "YOU CANT SERIOUSLY BE THINKING OF GOING TO THAT MANSION. "HAVEN'T YOU HEARD THE RUMORS OF THAT PLACE." Stella had indeed heard the rumors of the mansion. Stories had it that in the last seven years, 28 maidens two from each of the fourteen villages, including Alorious, had been chosen and taken to the cursed mansion. Not one of them had ever returned. Other rumors said that the Lord of the estate turned into a monster at night. Who then ate them? There were also rumors that he kept them in a hidden dungeon and tortured them until they died. And there was also the suggestion that a demon had possessed the Lord of the manor. And killed the Lord's family. And then demanded a maiden as a sacrifice, or his minions would attack the kingdom. No one knew which one was true but. None of the girls' families ever heard from them again.

Stella sighed and said." Listen, you two, I already said I would go, and if I don't, then Yuki is going to be taken away from here, at least, I'm strong enough to take care of myself." "But Stella." Yuki said, with tears running down her cheeks. "Who is going to prevent those spoiled sons of the councilmen from approaching us if you're not here?"

Stella smiled at this and said. "Remember that large order I filled earlier this spring." Haru, who was drying Yuki,s tears away, looked at Stella and said. "Yea, you said you were putting money aside for something special." At this point, Stella's smile got a bit wider as she then said. "Well, what if I said that I already used some of it on something." Yuki, who now had stopped crying, just looked at her when Haru said. "And what might that be, if you don't mind me asking?"

Stella walked over to a small cupboard and pushed it aside, revealing a floorboard with an open knot. She then stuck her finger in the open knot and lifted it, revealing a hole. She then reached into it and pulled out two small boxes. "I was saving these for Christmas, but I guess under the circumstances, now is a good a time as any." As she gave one to haru and the other to Yuki, Stella said they both opened them at the same time. "Stella, you didn't." Yuki gasped as she took out a beautiful dagger. "I had three of them made; this one is mine,"

Stella said as she took out a third box from the hole. It was at this point that Yuki and Haru saw that with the dagger. There also were a leather sheath and a belt, so they could be close on hand during the day. Stella then remembered the basket with food that she was bringing home. "Haru, can you help me get this into the pantry," Stella said, placing the basket on the table? Yuki then noticed the smaller basket sticking out. "Stella, what is this?" she said as she picked it out of the basket.

"Oh, that its something Miriam gave us as a thank you from her and her husband for that quilt that we made for her grandson." Stella replied as Yuki opened it; she smiled as she heard the soft gasp from Yuki when she saw the context of the basket "oh my goodness, Stella, they are beautiful." Yuki said as she took out a few of the rolls. Stella chuckled. "Yuki, you can admire those later; now come and help Haru and me."

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A few hours later, the girls had just finished eating dinner. "Ahh, delicious as always, Haru," Stella said as she gently rubbed her belly. Yuki nodded in agreement and then said. "Seriously, Haru, only you can make roast chicken with potatoes and gravy, taste like how mom used to make it. As Yuki got up from the bench and started to take out her plate, Stella got up from her place on the bench and started helping Yuki. While they were cleaning the dishes, haru started talking. "I understand why you did what you did, Stella, but I'm not happy about it." "I know Haru, but you have to accept my decisions." Stella replied, "I still can't believe that you're taking my place, Stella." Yuki whispered ."I know Yuki." Stella replied. "But you just have to accept it." Stella paused for a bit before asking. "Will, you and Haru, help me pack my stuff so that I'm ready by tomorrow; it would take too long by myself." Yuki smiled as haru sighed, then replied. "Of course, we will help you." Stella smiled as the three of them finished the dishes and walked up the stairs together to help her pack for the fate that awaited her in the morning.

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Stella woke up to the sound of birds singing outside the bedroom window of the room she was sharing with Haru and Yuki. Who as She sat up and looked towards the two other beds in the room, where currently still sleeping. Stella got out of bed and walked over to the window and opened it, causing the birds to fly away; as she watched them fly higher and higher in the sky, she gave a small sigh and prayed. "I'm doing this for Yuki mother, so please watch over me."

She then went over to a chair, where her clothes had been neatly placed the night before. After she got dressed, she went downstairs to start on breakfast. Stella knew that once she got the food cooking. Haru would wake up from the smell, and then she would wake up Yuki. True enough, when Stella was halfway through making breakfast, she heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs, shortly after haru and Yuki entered the room. Yuki saw what Stella was making on the stove and exclaimed. "Pancakes for breakfast, Stella, what's the occasion?"

Stella placed another pancake on the dish next to her. As a solemn smile appeared on her face as she replied. "Well, it's maybe the last time we are going to have breakfast like this, so I felt like making the most of it." A heavy silence fell over the room as Haru and Yuki remembered what had happened the day before. Yuki ran over and hugged Stella from behind. "I don't want you to go, Stella." Yuki cried. Stella sighed as she turned around and embraced Yuki. "Yuki, I already told you, I have no choice," Stella said Yuki then whispered. "I know that, but I still don't want you to go." Haru, who already had started setting the table, chimed in. "It's too late for Stella to take back what she said, Yuki. Besides, if it had been the other way around, Wouldn't you have done the same thing?"

Yuki,s shoulders had started shaking at this point. Her answer was almost a whisper. "If it had been the other way around, I would have done the same, I wouldn't have liked it, but I would've done the same." Stella gently pried Yuki away from her; she then took out her handkerchief and started wiping the tears away from Yuki,s cheeks. "Then you know how I feel Yuki, I may not like it, but I have to do it." Yuki solemnly nodded as Haru then pointed out. "Well then, shall we get started eating these pancakes before they get cold or what."

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Once they had eaten, the three of them finished up packing. Haru even went and got a small wagon that they started filling up with boxes and bags. They took a break for lunch and arranged for some of the town women to whom they had sold quilts, to go to their home and wake Yuki and Haru up since Stella wouldn't be around to do it. As the town clock chimed five in the afternoon, familiar carriage coming towards their home, Stella sighed irritated. "Here, they come."

Haru and Yuki, who were helping each other to get a box onto the wagon, stopped in their tracks and looked the way Stella was looking. "So they are." Haru said. As she then resumed pushing the box onto the wagon, still glaring at the approaching carriage. however, she put a little too much force into the push and accidentally pushed the box into Yuki,s shin. "Ow, Haru, watch where you are pushing that thing." Yuki hissed as she started rubbing her now sore shin.

Haru immediately snapped out of the hateful glare that she was sending towards the carriage, which only came closer and closer, and turned to her younger sister. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Yuki, are you okay?" Haru asked worriedly. "Yea, I'm fine, at least I'm not bleeding; just be more careful with the last couple of boxes and bags." Yuki said as she pushed the same box to an empty area of the wagon. Haru nodded as she picked up a bag and placed it onto the wagon.

Meanwhile, Stella had walked up to the carriage, which had stopped in front of her house in the middle of the street. The same skinny steward from yesterday came out. "What is that, monstrosity." He said with a sneer on his face as he saw the wagon. "That would be my belongings. You know, the ones I told you and your brutes about yesterday I would gather together. so my sisters' belongings wouldn't get mixed up in it, or were your ego so enormous that you temporarily went deaf."

Stella bit right back. The stewards' eyes widened at that remark. He then turned around with an insulted huff and walked back into the carriage. Haru and Yuki had just gotten the last bag onto the wagon and secured it when one of the big men from yesterday came out of the carriage. "Is that all Miss?" The man asked as he walked over to the wagon bench. "Yes, this is all of my personal belongings, though most of them are projects of mine, so please don't lose anything, or you will have to refund the money that I spent making it. And that goes for the money my client paid me to make it as well. Is that understood?"

Stella replied. The man looked at her dumbfounded before saying. Huh?" Yuki then jumped down from the wagon and said. "What our dear sister means is that if you lose even one of her projects that she entrusted you to bring to her new living arrangement. Then you will have to pay her and the client money; the client is given a refund, so they don't feel like they wasted their money, and Stella is given a refund. so she can replace the things she used in the making of said lost item to make it completely clear."

With a sly kitten-like smirk on her face, the man turned to look at all the boxes and bags and asked nervously. "W-what is the price of the cheapest things?" Stella thought for a moment before saying. "Right at the top of my head, I can't remember, uhh Haru, where did you place my little brown book?" Haru, who was in the middle of harnessing the horse up to the wagon, pointed at a satchel bag Yuki currently had over her shoulder while saying. "I'm pretty sure I placed it in your satchel bag." Yuki walked over to Stella with the bag, while also staying far away from the big man when she handed the bag to Stella. Stella went through it and found a brown book, she then opened it and turned to a page with the word prices written at the top. "Hmm, let's see, that would be a pair of knitted mittens which cost five pieces of silver moons, and since you would have to refund both the client and me, the price will be ten silver moons to both of us." Stella said as she turned to the man.

"WHAT that's a half of a whole day,s payment." The man exclaimed. Stella turned towards him, looked him dead in the eye, and said through gritted teeth. "You tried to kidnap my sister yesterday. Do I LOOK like I care whether or NOT you can afford to replace ANY of my projects if you lose them?" She then snapped the book shut and started walking towards the carriage. She was almost at the carriage when she said. "And just so you know, I take those rumors of the manor with a grain of salt, so if you lose anything. I will tell the Lord of the manor about it." The man visibly paled and got up on the coach bench. Stella then turned to Haru and Yuki and held out her arms. The two of them calmly walked up to her and embraced her, as tears started to gather in the corners of the eyes of all three girls. As tears fell from Haru and Yuki's eyes, Stella brushed them away with her thumbs as she then said.

"No matter the color of our skin, you two are still my sisters." The three of them then gently bumped their foreheads together, something they did to comfort each other. Then from right behind them, an arrogant voice said. "Ugh, will you three hurry up, I don't have all day, and all this sappiness is making me nauseous." Stella stiffened up and felt all the anger from before rising inside her. She and her sisters ended the hug. she looked over her shoulder towards the steward. Who was looking through the other side of the slightly opened carriage window with a hateful glare directed at him. Both Haru and Yuki looked at each other, they knew Stella,s temper, and when she got that look in her eyes, someone was moments away from having their nose broken.

Stella walked up to the carriage and, nearly tore the carriage door off the hinges, looked at the steward and with venom in her voice hissed. "Get out." The steward looked at her and replied. "Excuse me." Stella could feel her fists shaking, and when the steward looked at her disdainfully, she snapped and yelled.

"I SAID GET OUT YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING. I DONT WANT YOU SITTING NEAR ME ON THIS TRIP, LOOKING AT ME LIKE IM SOMETHING DISGUSTING ON YOUR SHOE. I WILL GO TO THE MANOR TO SAVE MY SISTER YUKI, BUT YOU CAN WALK THERE FOR ALL I CARE, NOW GET OUT."

She then grabbed the man at the neck of his jacket with one hand, opened the other carriage door with the other. And threw him out headfirst, right into a barrel of whey that a man who was passing by had on a wheel-wagon. The whole neighborhood, who had come to say goodbye and show their support erupted in laughter. Even haru and yuki were laughing as they all saw the rude steward. Who was now covered in the sticky goo, that stank of old milk and stinky cheese, getting out of the barrel one leg at the time, his nice clothes was now completely ruined? Just as he was about to step down from the wagon, the slimy whey caused him to slip and land face-first into a pile of horse droppings.

Causing the man on the wagon that contained Stella,s belongings to join the crowd who started laughing even more. Even the man who the barrel of whey belonged too and the coachman joined in the laughter. Stella stood at the door of the carriage, with a bit of a smug grin on her face, as the steward walked away, which wasn't easy, as the whey made him slip. She then closed the door, walked to the other side of the carriage, and opened the door. She saw Miriam and her husband standing next to Yuki, and Haru who was halfway embracing Yuki. Miriam walked up to Stella, holding out a bag, her husband holding something as well. "When my husband and I heard about what you did, we decided to give you something to help with your projects." Stella smiled as she took the bag before Miriam added. "And this is a thank you." She then took a box wrapped up in white fabric, tied with a red ribbon from her husband, and gave it to Stella. The box was a bit higher than her knee, and from what she could see, it was 16 inches from the front and 12 inches at the side.

"You don't have to open it now." Miriam said with a smile as Stella took the package and placed it inside the carriage. She then turned around and took Miriam,s hand and said. "Please, Miriam, look after Haru and Yuki for me." Miriam smiled and gave a small nod; the coachman turned towards the touching scene and asked. "Are we ready to go, Miss?"

Stella took a deep breath, sighed, and looked at the coach. "Yes, let's go." Stella answered as she got inside the carriage. The coachman nodded in response, resumed his post, and cracked the reins signaling for the horses to go. Stella looked out the door window and saw people from the neighborhood, waving their hands or embroidered handkerchiefs. Even a few small kids sitting on their parents, shoulders, holding their stuffed toys in one arm while waving with the other. As the carriage started moving, older kids began running after it. She then saw Haru and Yuki, who was still standing next to Miriam, both of them giving a small wave to her.

Which she returned, she heard the wagon behind her starting to follow the carriage, as she saw her neighborhood pass by the window. It quickly changed to the market and then to the forest that surrounded most of the kingdom. Except for the farms where many different crops would be ready for harvest when autumn came. A bump in the road caused the bag Miriam had given her to fall over. Stella reached down and picked it up. She decided to see what was in the bag; upon opening it, she saw a letter on top of the bag's context. Stella took the letter and tied the bag shut once more; she then picked up the letter and opened it.

§ Dear Stella, if you are reading this, then you are properly already on your way to the mansion. If you are still nervous about your sisters' safety, then don't worry. I know for a fact that the man who is going with the steward to your home tomorrow has an older sister, who is working as a cook at the mansion. I'm sure if you tell her how her brothers have behaved, she will undoubtedly give them a stern talking. Anyway, stay strong, our prayers are with you, all our best hope Miriam. §

Stella suddenly noticed a wet spot at the bottom of the paper. It was only then that she realized she was crying. Stella then put the letter back in the envelope, grabbed the bag that she had put aside, and hugged it tightly, crying silently into the sack. After a while, Stella had stopped crying, placed the bag away from her, and looked out the window. Stella was angry at the councilmen, nervous and scared. Still, she had to do this, or her poor sister Yuki would have been taken to a mansion from where none of the young women who were sent to ever returned. All of a sudden, she heard the coachman call out.

"If you look out the window on your right, Miss, you can see the mansion. We'll arrive there an hour before dinner." Stella sighed and looked out the window, there in the distance she saw it, and she was kind of surprised to see that it didn't look anything like what the councilmen had described. Yes, she had heard that it was big, but it didn't look dark and foreboding from what she could see, then she heard the coachman speak. "If I can be honest with you, that was a very courageous thing you did for your sister Miss. I don't know if either of my two daughters would have the courage to do that for each other." Stella smiled to herself and returned inside the carriage. After she sat back down, she could do nothing else but hope that her stay at the mansion wouldn't be as bad as she feared. Finally, Stella saw the gates that marked the estate entrance. As the gates opened, she took a deep breath and whispered to herself. "No, turning back now." As the carriage started moving again, driving the last half mile up towards the mansion, it finally came to a stop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't own the Cat Returns nor do I own the rights I don't gain profit from it I'm simply doing this for fun


	2. The curse and the gypsy. Chapter 2  The storm

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The door to the carriage opened, and a voice said. "Welcome to Rosewood manor miss, we hope you had a pleasant journey here." Stella stood up and walked out of the carriage. The first thing she saw was a grand stone staircase that led up to the mansion; the windows looked as big as the doors in her neighborhood church, and the estate was about four stories tall. The sound of a wagon stopping from behind caught her attention. It was the wagon with all her belongings stopping right behind the carriage.

She walked over to it and called out to the driver. "You didn't lose anything, did you?" The man jumped down and turned around to face her as he replied. "No, I didn't, not with that threat of paying refund money looming over me. "Before Stella could say anything, the same voice from before called out. "We'll be taking care of all this, sir." Stella turned around and saw an elderly looking man wearing a butlers uniform. She then saw two men by the carriage, one holding the box and the other getting the bag out of the carriage once he had the bag in his arms. The two of them started walking up past a whole group of servants who were walking toward the wagon. as they began to help each other getting Stella's things from the cart, the butler addressed Stella. "Miss, if you would please follow me, I will escort them to your room. Stella started following the butler inside the mansion.

The main foyer was beautiful. Two grand staircases curving up the sides of the oval entrance with a bust stand standing in the middle of the hall. the bust had the shape of a cat,s head, but bigger, as in the size of a human head. Under the statue on a small plaque was an inscription that read. § Knight Valorious, May his virtues live on in his descendants. § Stella,s reading of the plate was interrupted when the butler said. "Ah yes, Knight Valorious the young lords' ancestor, you are properly wondering why he looks like that." Stella gave a small nod before the butler continued, "Well, that's unfortunately not for me to tell you; that's up to the young lord when he,s ready." Stella thought for a moment, then asked. "When will he be ready?" the butler turned to her and replied. "He'll let you know, miss." As he gestured for her to follow him, they finally stopped in front of a big pair of doors. "Here are your rooms, miss, and if you need me, just ask the maids for Giles." Stella gave a small thankful smile to him as she opened the door; the room was big, so big that the ground floor of her and her sister's home plus their garden could be in there. In the middle of the wall to the left, a big curtained canopy bed had its place.

right across from the bed, a small couch was facing a fireplace. as Stella walked deeper into the room, she saw that to the left of the door was a closet with a folding screen, and to the right was a bookcase, the floor under the bed, and the couch was covered in two carpets. The carpet under the sofa depicted a field of flowers. Stella then saw a writing desk on the other side of the bed in the corner. She then remembered one of the rules that the councilmen had told the town. the rule was that "apparently" the girls chosen were not allowed to write home to their families since that would break the rule about them having contact with anyone outside the mansion. "Why would there be a writing desk in the room if I'm not allowed to write home?" Stella mumbled to herself. She then noticed a door at the right side of the room and walked towards it. When she opened it, she saw it was a bathroom, a warm cream covered the walls while light brown tiles covered the floor. A round stone formation covered in the same tiles as the floor surrounded the round bathtub. A table next to the door was filled with several bottles with bath oils and containers with bath soap. There was an almost identical table on the opposite side of the room, but with a sink and with what looked like half an oyster shell where a bar of hand soap had its place. In the corner next to the table, Stella saw a toilet.

Her curious mind was interrupted by the sound of knocking on the door to her room. Stella walked out of the bathroom just as the door opened, and a maid poked her head in and said. "Excuse me for interrupting, miss, but there is a lot of boxes outside your door." "Ah, right, all of my things, you can get some of the others to help you bring them inside my room." Stella replied only to be met with a wide stare from the maid, who looked to be younger than Yuki. "Others, miss?" the maid asked cautiously. "Well, yea, I'm not going to let one maid carry all of those boxes in here, especially when the maid in question looks younger than 18." Stella retorted, the maid, then replied."I'm 16, Miss." Stella smirked, and while looking at the small frame of the maid, said. "Plus, you don't look like you would be able to carry even one of the big boxes in here, no offense, of course." "None taken, Miss." "That's good. Say, what's your name." "Its, Julia, miss." The maid, whose name Stella now knew was Julia said, as she curtsied. Stella smiled and sent Julia out of the room to get some of the stronger servants to help her get all the boxes into the room. Stella meanwhile looked through the rest of the room, she walked up to a curtain that was facing the door, when she pulled it aside she found a beautiful alcove, with a bookshelf built into the wall on one side. A small mattress covered with soft pillows and blankets filled the entire alcove, slightly illuminated by the moon that she could see outside and the light from the room.

"This will be a perfect spot for me to sit and do my work. "Stella smilingly said to herself suddenly she heard a knock on the door she called out. "Who is it?" the door opened and revealed Giles. He walked in, gave a small bow, and said, "dinner is served, miss, and the young lord wants to meet you." "Very well, excuse me for a moment." Stella replied as she walked into the bathroom, walked over to the sink, and started washing her hands, something she and her sisters had been taught by their mother since they were children. once she was done, she looked around for a towel, finally seeing one hanging on the wall. as Stella walked towards it, she had not seen that her dripping hands had caused a small puddle on the floor while she had looked for a towel, causing her to slip on the water and fall flat on her behind. "miss Stella are you alright." Giles called out. "I'm fine. I just slipped." Stella called back while wincing getting up.

As her hands touched the floor, she noticed that the floor tiles were warm like the bricks above and in front of a fireplace. suddenly Giles came into the room. "oh dear, let me help you up. Your not hurt, are you?" he said as he took Stella's hand and pulled her up. "Giles m fine I'm not a porcelain doll; I don't break that easily." Stella replied once she was on her feet again, wincing when her hand rubbed over her now sore backside. "Though I hope a soft pillow on my chair isn't too much to ask for." she added, a small hopeful smile on her face. Giles chuckled and said, "of course, it's not, Miss afterall you just took a tumble I'll tell one of the maids to place one on your chair." Stella smiled and said, "thank you." as Giles walked her out of the bathroom, she then remembered how warm the tiles were and decided to ask about it. "um Giles, how come the tiles in the bathroom were warm to the touch?"

Giles looked confused for a moment, but then his eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that would be due to the enchantment that is carved into every tile. My guess is that when this mansion was built, the owner and his family were not a fan of a cold bathroom floor." Stella nodded in understanding and then asked: "so does every bathroom in this house has the same enchantment, or is it only the rooms that are reserved for the owners' family?" "it's every bathroom, including the ones for the servants." Giles replied. Stella nodded once again and then said. "I bet that it must be nice to have a warm bathroom floor to walk into in the morning." Giles chuckled as he said. "Well, let's just say that I haven't heard any complaints yet." as they walked out of Stella's room and down the hall. Finally, they arrived in front of a pair of big double doors that were decorated with carvings that pictured a dining room. three connected tables filled with delicious-looking food, with dinner guests on one side facing a pair of jugglers in the center of the room. while male and female servants were serving food and pouring drinks. Giles knocked on the door, knocking Stella out of taking in the details on the scene that the doors depicted as they opened.

As Stella walked into the room, she saw that aside from Giles herself and the four servants, two males and two females, there was only one person who was facing a fireplace. Slightly bent forward, looking into the fire with their back to the small dining table. "Sire, their new houseguest has arrived." Giles announced to the person who was facing the fireplace. The young lord raised his back, turned around, and started walking towards her and Giles. When he finally stood in front of Stella, she could see that he looked to be about her age. The tanned skin on his face showed signs that he enjoyed being outdoors if the weather allowed it, unlike the councilmen's spoiled family members. Whose skin looked so pale, it was almost sickly. Brown hair a few shades lighter than hers, which framed his head and was pulled into a small ponytail. His eyes were light emerald green. She could admit that he was good-looking; heck, she would even call him handsome if it wasn't for his eyes. There was nothing wrong with them, but they looked so sad and tired as if he had the world on his back.

Giles broke the silence. "Well, I believe you would like to have some food, Miss. Before it gets cold." Stella started walking towards the table, where she saw a chair that had a soft-looking pillow on it, thinking to herself. "Okay, so he's good-looking, but a nice appearance does not a nice person make." She then sat down, looking over the table of food. Giles came over, took a plate, and presented it to her. On the plate were pastry snails with champignon, ham, and cream cheese. Stella was tempted to take five of the warm pastries at the same time, but she reeled herself in remembering the manners her mom taught her and that she was in a stranger's house. And the last thing she wanted was to portray herself as a pig, not to mention that if she ate her stomach full on what she assumed was the first course. Then the rest of the food that the servants working in the kitchen had worked so hard on would be wasted. With those thoughts in mind, she only took two of them. Giles then took the plate over to the young man, who also only took two.

As the two of them started to eat, Stella noticed that the young lord was staring at her. "What, is there something on my face?" Stella asked the young lord, who suddenly looked a bit embarrassed about being caught staring, before replying. "Sorry, it's just, you don't look like any of the other girls." "What do you mean?" She asked. The lord then gave a sigh and said. "On their first night here, each and every girl almost didn't eat anything. And they looked scared like, they thought I would hurt them if they made even the smallest mistake." Stella thought for a moment and then replied.

"Well, when 28 maidens in seven years disappear while staying in your house, The rumor mill gets to work, and people get scared because of the rumors." "You don't look scared?" The young man said. Stella chuckled a bit before replying. "I have learned to take those rumors with a grain of salt." "I see." He replied with a smile and resumed eating; once the first course was over, a male and female servant came over and took out the dirty plates and utensils. Giles then came over with another tray and started serving the main course, which was steak with potatoes and gravy and redcurrant jelly.

As they started eating again, the young man asked. "So, since you are going to stay here for a year, may I ask for your name, you know, for politeness sake." Stella looked at him, smirked, and replied. "Sure, if I can ask for your's in return." He looked surprised for a moment but then gave a small laugh, smiled, and said. "Alright, that's fair. My name is Nemo, Nemo Nautilus and yours." "Stella." she replied. "Just Stella." "No, surname?" Nemo asked curiously. Stella only shook her head before saying. "I never learned my birth family's last name, and the surname of my sisters back home doesn't quite fit me. So I just go by Stella." Then when the young lord didn't question her further, she resumed eating. "I hope you like the room that has been assigned to you." Nemo said a few minutes later as a maid refilled his goblet. "It's perfect, thank you." Stella replied. Nemo then added. "I'm glad you like it; the other girls also stayed in that room."

Before drinking from the goblet, the main course continued in silence. Once it was over, the servants cleaned out the dishes, and dessert was served shortly after. "So umm, is it true?" Nemo asked, causing Stella to almost miss her mouth and drop the piece of vanilla cream pie from the fork. "Huh, is what true?" Was Stella's only response as she placed down the fork with the piece of pie still on it, so she could wipe away the small mess on her chin with the napkin. "It's just, I may have overheard some of the servants talking to the coachman who brought you here about something amusing he was witness to in your home town." Nemo said suspiciously.

Stella had to bite her tongue to keep herself from laughing. She remembered the only thing that the coachman could have been witness to and had found amusing enough to share with the other servants. "Oh, what did he witness?" Stella asked. "Something about the mayor's valet being thrown headfirst into a barrel of whey. And then, when he got out, he slipped and landed facefirst in a pile of horse dung." Nemo replied. "Oh really, do you know who did it?" Stella inquired. "No, but from what I overheard, the valet had it coming." He answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, he must have really angered someone to get that kind of treatment." Stella said as she resumed eating while laughing on the inside. Once they were done with dinner, Giles came over and whispered something to Nemo, who then stood up from the table, turned to Stella, and said. "You'll have to excuse me. Giles just informed me that there is still some documents leftover in my study that I must look over and sign. But I do wish you a good remaining evening, and I hope that you will have a good night's rest." As he then walked out of the room. Stella took that as her own cue to leave for her room. As she got up, she looked to the servants who were already cleaning up the table and said. " Thank you for the wonderful service tonight, and please tell the cook that the meal was delicious from start to finish." She then left the room, as she was almost at her door, she saw the maid Julia standing there. "Ah, Julia." Stella exclaimed. "Have all of my belongings been moved inside." Julia smiled and said. "yes, they have, Miss." as she gave a confirming nod, Stella smiled as she opened the door and walked inside.

indeed everything was there; the chest with her clothes was placed near the closet. the 12 boxes where she knew 7 of them contained unfinished projects, and the other 5 contained personal belongings near the alcove. and next to the two baskets where one contained threads, the other contained fabric pieces for quilting. and sitting there on the alcove was the package from Miriam. Stella walked over to the alcove, sat down, and started opening the package (insert description of the package here) once she had closed all the drawers. she then noticed how late it was and placed the beautiful sewing box in front of the main window. She walked over to the chest with her clothes, changed into her nightgown, and got herself ready for bed. Once she got onto the bed, her last thought before falling asleep was a small prayer that her sisters were safe and a promise that she would explore more of the mansion the next day.

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Stella almost didn't dare open her eyes, hoping that everything from the previous days had been a dream. Suddenly a knock on the door startled her, and she quickly sat up. Looking around and realizing that what had happened wasn't a dream, she gave a small sigh of disappointment as another knock came from the door. "Who is it?" she called out as she got out of the bed and put on a robe; she then heard a female voice say. "It's Julia, miss Stella. I'm bringing breakfast, may I come in?" Stella tied up the robe before responding. "Sure, come on in." the door opened, and Julia came in with a covered silver tray. Stella gestured towards the table in front of the fireplace. Julia then walked over and placed the tray on it; she then turned to Stella and asked. "Is there anything else I can help them with, Miss?" Stella shook her head as she said. "Not at the moment, Julia, and please don't be so formal with me. I'm not a Nobel."

"Oh, alright, miss, I mean Stella." Julia said as she walked out of the room. Stella walked over to the table and sat down in front of the covered tray. when she uncovered the tray, she saw a bowl of warm porridge with 4 smaller bowls next to it that contained either berries, honey, sliced apple, and what looked like chopped nuts and a cup of milk. unable to choose, Stella decided to put a little bit of each into the bowl of porridge, finishing it with the honey. once she had eaten, she decided to take a bath. as the bathtub was filling up with hot water, Stella looked over the many bottles of bath soap. finally deciding on one that smelled vaguely of honey and hibiscus. as she poured in a small amount of the soap, she heard the door open and heard someone pick something up and then walk out the door and the door closing. putting down the bottle, she briefly looked out from the bathroom. She saw that the tray that Julia had brought in was gone, figuring out that it must have been Julia.

Stella returned to the bath, turned the knob to the water off, got into the bath, and started cleaning herself. when she was done and had gotten out of the bath, she put on a bathrobe, wrapped her hair in a towel, and walked out of the room. when her hair had dried, and she had brushed it, Stella started putting on some clean clothes while she decided to see if this place had a library. after she was dressed, she walked out of her room and down the hallway after a few hours of looking. Stella was just about to give up when she turned a corner and saw an enormous curtain.

"I don't see any windows on this side of the hallway, so why is there a curtain here?" Stella thought to herself as she walked up to move the curtain. Once it was moved away, she saw a wooden double door with the motif of books carved into it. Realizing that she had found the door to the library, she reached for the door handle and turned it, but found it locked. All of a sudden, an inscription appeared above the handle it read.

"Don't dawdle or fiddle; try finding the key by solving this riddle.

Apples are sweet, lemons are sour. You'll find the key by turning the hour."

Stella looked around and saw an old grandfather clock and walked over to it; she saw that apples and lemons were carved into it, four apples on one side of the clock face, and four lemons on the other side. Stella then noticed that the clock was one hour slow and thought for a few minutes and looked closely at the clock. Then, she noticed that around the apples and lemons, there was a deeper indent. she then gently pushed one of the apples and smiled as it was pushed into the clock. she then took away her finger and saw how the wooden apple returned to its former state. She then lined up her hands, so the fingers aside from the thumbs touched a wooden fruit. Stella then pushed all eight of them into the clock. She quickly removed her fingers and moved the clock's hands to the right time. A sound could then be heard from inside the clock, then at one of the sides of the clock, a small panel fell open, and there lying on the panel was a key with a handle in the shape of a book. Stella picked up the key and walked back to the door.

She put the key in the lock and turned it. She then grabbed the door handle once again and turned it. The door was finally open, and Stella walked into the room wich turned out to be the library. The bookshelves were as tall as houses filled to the brim with books of all kinds. Ladders with wheels at the bottom at every bookcase. Seeing a book that she had seen a copy of in her hometown's bookshop, a few shelves up. Stella walked over to the nearest ladder, climbed up to the shelf, grabbed the book, and carefully climbed down. She walked over to a pair of big plush chairs with a table in front of them, sat down on the nearest chair, placed the book on the table, and started reading. The clock had chimed four a short while ago when Stella's reading was suddenly interrupted by a shout.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING IN HERE." Stella looked up towards the door, there stood Nemo, and he didn't look pleased as she then said. "What does it look like I'm doing." She is mildly irritated at the tone of his voice as he walks towards her; he then yells. "YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED IN HERE." "AND WHY IS THAT? GIVE ME A GOOD REASON AS TO WHY IM NOT ALLOWED IN HERE." Stella yells right back at him. Nemo then hissed at her, "its none of your business as to why this room is forbidden just. get. out."

Stella squared her shoulders as she reined in her anger. She then said coldly, "if I'm supposed to stay here and be your housemate, then it IS my business." Stella stood up and started walking out of the room, but not before saying one last comment. "And just so you know, my good SIR, ritgh now you are behaving just like those spoiled rotten men of the town where I'm from. Who thinks they are so entitled that they don't have to tell anyone anything and just expects us of the lover class to dance after their tune. Well, not this gypsy girl now if you excuse me. I think I require some fresh air the mansion has become very "stuffy" all of a sudden." Stella then walked out of the room in evident anger, causing every servant who had arrived at the room to see what the yelling was about to jump out of the way and to look after her as she walked down the hallway towards her room.

Nemo stood there for a while after Stella had left. Still feeling the sting in the wounds from her verbal lashing to his pride, she actually compared him to some arrogant youths in her hometown. "Me arrogant, if that's not the most ridiculous..." he then saw the book still lying on the table. he closed it and picked it up, not even looking at the cover. walked over to the ladder, climbed up, put the book back in place, and climbed down. He then walked out of the room and closed the doors. The servants had returned to their chores at this point,

so Nemo was all alone in the hallway. he then placed his forehead against the door, and as he felt a familiar stinging in his eyes, whispered. "The memories in those two rooms are too painful. She had no right." He removed himself from the door and then rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, then took the key out of the door and said. "I must find a better hiding spot for this until then, I have to leave it in my study." he then walked down the hallway that would lead him to his study.

~two hours later~

Nemo was looking through some papers when one of the gardeners who also was in charge of the messenger ravens came running in calling out. "My lord, my lord, it's terrible." Nemo looked up in surprise and asked. "What's wrong?" the Gardner took a moment to catch his breath and then said. "The Ravens have just told me there is a hole in the wall surrounding the estate." When he heard this, Nemo jumped up from his chair and knew just how dangerous the woods around his estate could be. There were wolves in those woods, and during fall and winter, they were even more dangerous due to lack of food. without missing a beat said. "Giles." Giles, who had just walked into the room and was now giving the Gardner a glass of water, stood up. "sir." Nemo then ordered out. "tell everyone to get every freerunning animal in their pens and enclosures." He then turned towards the big window behind him, looked up into the darkening sky, and added. "It looks like a storm is approaching. Once it has passed, send the wall builders to fix the hole, the Ravens can show them the way."

Giles gave a quick nod and turned to the door. scarcely had he opened it to walk out of the room before Julia came running in, worry evident on her face. "Pardon me for intruding, my lord, but have you seen Stella?" Nemo turned around curiosity, starting to show on his face. "Aren't you supposed to look after her?" he asked as Giles lead Julia to a nearby ottoman to sit. "I am, but I can't seem to find her, and I have looked almost everywhere," Julia replied. Nemo then asked Julia. "Who were the last ones to see her." "Well, the kitchen maids did tell me that Stella was asking for a big picnic basket of food," Julia replied, hearing this. The Gardner, who now had calmed down, seemed to be remembering something, then he spoke up. "I remember seeing miss Stella too. She was asking one of the other gardeners if she could borrow an axe. She was carrying the basket of food, but she was also carrying what looked like a traveler's backpack strapped onto her back.

A thought suddenly struck Nemo, and he turned toward the window that faced the forest, fear crawling up his back as Stella's last words to him echoed in his mind. "" _I think I require some fresh air_."" Nemo quickly turned around and walked towards the Gardner, grabbing him by the shoulders as he asked. "Do you know where the Ravens said the hole was?" "Yes, they said the hole was in the northwestern part of the estate, in one of the forested areas; why?" replied the Gardner Nemo then asked. "Did you see where Stella was headed?" As Gardner tried to remember, his eyes widen in fear. "She was walking northwest towards the forest." Julia gasped in horror. Nemo turned to Giles and said. "Giles, tell the stable master to get Dusk ready." As he briskly walked over to the coat rack and grabbed his dark-green coat. Giles gave a firm nod and quickly walked out of the room to tell the servants to get the animals to safety and to get Dusk ready. The Gardner followed close behind, leaving only Julia behind in the room as Nemo buckled a belt with a sword strapped onto it. Julia stood up and approached Nemo.

"Sir, can I ask you something?" "Sure, Miss Julia, but please make it quick," Nemo replied as he was putting on his riding boots. "When you find Miss Stella, she may still be angry at you. So maybe it would be wisest of you to apologize for yelling at her earlier, but of course, that's just my opinion." Julia said as Nemo started walking towards the door. As he opened it, he replied. "I won't make any promises, but I will consider it." He then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Julia then turned to the window, praying no one would die this night.

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Meanwhile, in the northwestern part of the estate, deep in the forested area, the forest's silence was broken by the sound of the chopping of wood. Stella pulled the axe out of the tree trunk, muttering to herself. Once She was done, she gathered the wood by placing the logs on top of a piece of rope where the ends were tied to a handle. Once all the logs were on it, she put the handle through the other end of the rope and lifted it up. Stella then picked up the axe and walked towards the cave she had found and had decided to make camp there. Once she was inside the cave, Stella placed the wood up against the wall and then walks towards the small fire she had made where a small pot where cooking her dinner. She stirred the ladle in the pot to make sure the meat in the soup hadn't been burnt. Once she saw that nothing was burnt, Stella walked over to the small makeshift bed she had made out of pine branches, some blankets, and a pillow. Next to the bed, she had placed the satchel, the food basket, and the backpack. Stella opened the backpack and took out a wooden bowl and spoon. She then goes back to the pot and pours some of the soup into the bowl; once the bowl is full, she sits down and starts eating. Stella has almost finished the pot when she hears the sound of a horse approaching the area outside the cave.

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Nemo had finally found her. She had set up camp inside a cave, her back turned towards him. He got off his horse and started walking towards her. "Listen, Miss, you're probably still mad, but you have to get out of here." He said as he got closer to her; when she didn't react, he reached out, grabbed her by her arm, and pulled her up.

"Will you listen to me-" Was as far as he got before a strong fist collided with his cheekbone, he fell to the forest floor. As he then sat up and placed his left hand on his aching cheekbone, he saw the young woman standing in front of him yelling. "IM NOT GOING BACK TO THE MANSION UNTIL I GET A FUCKING EXPLANATION AS TO WHY YOU GOT SO ANGRY AT ME FOR BEING IN THE LIBRARY."

Now Nemo started getting angry, ignoring his aching cheek, he got up on his feet and started shouting himself. "YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN THERE. NOW IM TAKING YOU BACK TO THE MANSION KICKING AND SCREAMING IF I HAVE TO."

"HA, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY YOU SPOILED RICH BRAT."

The shouting went back and forth between them until the howl of a wolf interrupted them. "Wolves, there are bloody wolves in this forest." Stella hissed, turning to Nemo, who then replied. "This is why I came to get you back to the mansion. There is a hole in the wall that surrounds this estate, which has allowed wolves to get in." Stella then runs into the cave and comes back out with the axe in one hand and her knife in the other, all while saying. "Great, just fucking great, I try to give myself some space, so I don't hurt anyone with how pissed I am, and now this shit happens."

Nemo then, in a small attempt to cheer her up, said. "Well, look at it from the bright side; at least it can't get any-." Longer, he didn't come as a bright flash of lightning lit up the darkening sky. Followed instantly by a large crack of thunder interrupting him, only seconds later, it was pouring down. "Excuse me, were you- were you about to say WORSE." Stella cried out as she turned towards him, looking just about ready to hit him again. Nemo flinched and replied quickly, to possibly avoid getting an axe to the head this time. "No." "No?" "No." "You sure?" "Absolutely."

Then a second howl was heard, this time much closer than before. Nemo drew his sword and asked Stella. "Uhh, Miss Stella, do you know how to fight?" Stella smirked and replied. "If that big black soap-eye your left eye is going to have is any indication, then yes, I know how to fight." the sound of growling made them turn towards the darkness of the forest. "This is, however, my first fight against a pack of wolves." Stella added as the pack of wolves started to appear from the woods. Moments passed as the two of them stared down the pack of lupines. And then, the wolves attacked.

One charged at Stella, who then swung her axe and hit the wolf in the neck, spraying a few stray drops of crimson on her face. The wolf's dying body hit the ground, spilling blood on the soil, convulsed a few times, and then laid still. Nemo stared at the dead wolf for a few seconds, looked to Stella, and whispered under his breath. "Holy mother of- I think you hit it in the jugular vein." "Good, that was also the intention." Stella muttered back.

Nemo didn't get to answer back as another wolf charged at him. He grabbed his sword just as the wolf jumped towards him. He managed to avoid the wolf by stepping to the side and cutting the wolf's shoulder in the process. After a long fight, most of the wolfpack had fled, leaving behind three dead wolves, and now both Stella and Nemo, who by now were both covered in small cuts and bruises. they were facing the last two wolves, who were still alive. One of the wolves charged towards them, but they both jumped out of the way. Stella took her knife turned around, and threw the knife just as the wolf turned around, only to have the knife embed itself into the skull of the lupine, killing it instantly. She quickly walked over to the body and pulled her knife out of the dead wolf's head, wiping the knife clean of blood in its fur afterward.

Suddenly she heard Nemo shout. "STELLA BEHIND YOU." Stella quickly turned around, only to see Nemo jump in between her and the last wolf who was just about to pounce on her only for his left shoulder to get between its jaws. He cried out in pain as he and the wolf fell on the forest floor and started fighting. Nemo then threw a punch at the wolf's head, which made it let go of his shoulder. but the wolf managed to tear a piece of his shirt off and for a small moment thanks to the firelight. Stella saw something shining fall off the piece of cloth and into a puddle of mud. "NO, MY EMBLEM." Nemo cried out as he felt his body start to ripple and started fighting harder against the wolf, who was now trying to bite him by the neck. Stella ran towards them, picked up Nemo's sword that he had dropped to jump in front of her, yelled out. "USE YOUR LEGS TO LIFT HIM UP."

Nemo did as she said and grabbed onto the wolf's front paws, placed his feet under the wolf's chest, and lifted the snarling beast up, so it was standing on its hind legs. As soon as Nemo did that, Stella, high on adrenalin, finished the sprint towards them and swung the sword to the left. A dull thud was heard as the wolf's head fell to the ground, followed by its body. That Nemo pushed off of himself, then got up on his feet and started staggering towards the puddle that his emblem had landed in. However, he was not even halfway when he fell to the ground, passed out from exhaustion and blood loss.

After the swing, Stella, who had fallen to the floor, had not seen what had happened to Nemo. After catching her breath, she got up and cleaned the blood from the sword when she heard the thud behind her and turned around. "NEMO," she cried out as she saw him lying on the dirty ground. Stella ran over to him and lifted him up; his face was hidden behind the hood of his cloak.

She then carefully placed his right arm over her shoulders and her left hand under his left arm. Stella lifted him up as well as she could, with almost all of her muscles nearly screaming in pain, and started dragging both of them towards the cave where the fire was still burning. The moment that they were close enough to the fire without being burnt. Stella's knees buckled, and she fell to her knees; she lifted the unconscious body of the young lord off of her, Who then rolled onto his back. Stella was breathing and gasping heavily for a few moments before she muttered to herself.

"Holy shit, I haven't had to fight so hard since I was 12 years old,

and had to steal back Yuki's favorite doll from those brats who were gonna throw it on the midsummer pyre. What about you, Nemo?"

As she briefly glanced towards the nonresponding male next to her and then away, only for her to turn her head so fast towards him that she heard a few small pops from her neck. Still, Stella couldn't care less about the brief pain in her neck, as the young man next to her no longer looked human.

His face was that of a cat

A cat with light tan fur covering his face and dark brown markings going from just below his eyes to the back of his head that was still covered by the cloak. After a few minutes of looking at this new appearance of the young lord. Stella snapped out of it and turned her attention towards the injuries. That the young man had gotten during the fight, especially the bite on his left shoulder, that now had gotten dirt into it. Knowing his injuries would get infected if she didn't act quickly. she took the small empty cooking pot that had been cooling of from the fire, placed the empty waterskins in it, and walked out into the pouring rain. Stella found her way to the river that she had crossed while looking for a place to make camp and started filling the waterskins, which she then tied to her side. She then filled the pot with water and started carrying it all back to the cave. Once she was back inside, Stella quickly stoked the fire and placed the pot on it. She then walked over to Nemo. who was still unconscious and carefully stared, taking off the cloak once the cloak was untied.

Stella then saw that he even had cat-ears alongside longer fur on his head than the rest of his face. She couldn't help her curiosity, carefully stroking his cheek with her right hand, and found it to be soft like a kitten.

"Hmm, now I wonder why do you look like this when you looked like a human back at the mansion." Stella thought to herself then she remembered the emblem that Nemo had cried out about during the fight "could it be..."

she mumbled as she looked into the storm Stella picked up a small oil lantern lit its wick with a small burning stick and walked out of the cave she walked towards the puddle that she saw the emblem fall into thankfully the water in the puddle was clear so Stella could easily see the emblem shine in the light of the lantern she picked it up and as she walked back she studied the item in her hand.

It was a wreath of oak leaves made of silver with a center of ivory carved to look like two faces in profile back to back one was the shape of a human male the other was that of a cat.

She didn't see the rest of the details due to a sudden cold gust of air blowing through her causing her to shudder and making her realize she was soaked to the bone Stella quickly got inside the cave and walked over to Nemo as she kneeled down in front of him she saw that bloodstains were starting to show through the jacket biting back a small curse she quickly unbouttonend the jacket and took off the shirt as well.

She then saw that the fur that covered his chest and stomach were the same light tan as his face while the rest was the same shade of dark brown the only problem now was that the fur prevented her from seeing the extent of his injuries espically the bite on his shoulder Stella had a felling that the emblem would make the fur dissappear but with no clothes on Nemos upper chest the emblem wouldnt stay in place and NO WAY was she going to give him a piercing like the sailors she sometimes ran into when doing deliveries in the nearby harbor town,

nor was she going to risk giving him blood poisening. Then she had and idea she untied her hair ribbon and tied the two ends to the top of the emblem and carefully placed it around his neck few moments after the emblem touched his skin/fur Stella saw that a ripple effect seemed to start at the makeshift pendeant and expanded over his entire body and for every ripple the fur shrank more and more and his face became more and more human.

After a few minutes Nemo had no more hair on his body than an ordinary person and his face looked human once more Stella could finally see the extend of the injuries it was only when she was cleaning them with the heated water in the now clean wodden bowl that she realized that she didnt have any bandages to wrap the injuries making a quick decision she teared off a piece of his cape and tied it around his eyes.

Once she was sure he couldnt see she took a few steps away from and started taking off her clothes until all she was wearing was her white undershirt and white kneelong underskirt she then used her knife and cut her dress into makeshift bandages once she was done she picked up the wraps and walked back towards him once she had placed the bandages into the pot of boiling water next to him she walked over to her bag and found the pot of honey that the kitchen maids had put in there for her to use for her breakfeast. 

However, Stella knew of something else it could be used for and brought it over to Nemo and the wraps. Once she had cleaned the rest of his wounds, she carefully put in a small amount of honey into every one of the wounds when that was done. Stella carefully picked up one of the smaller wraps and applied a small amount of honey on the part of it. She then started wrapping it around his upper arm. Once all minor injuries were bandaged, she took one of the bigger ones, applied the honey, and started wrapping it around his bite injury. 

Any other girl would surely have blushed until they burst into flames, but Stella knew this was not the time to be embarrassed about the naked upper body of a young man, so she ignored the slight heat she felt in her cheeks and kept on wrapping his injury. Once Stella was done, she lifted him up and got him over to the makeshift bed. Stella then carefully placed him on it and covered him with the blanket. When she was sure that he was asleep. Stella then picked up the axe and walked out of the cave and into the rain. She then took turns, cutting down branches that she could see were thick enough to carry a body and went into the cave again to look after Nemo. By the time she had enough, she saw the horse that Nemo had been riding while looking for her camp come trotting towards her. She gently called out, "Come here, Gorgeous." while clapping her hands. 

Once the horse was close enough, Stella grabbed the reins and brought the horse over to the area where she had brought the branches she had cut down. she tied the horse to a low hanging branch; while she looked the horse over to see if it would be strong enough, she came across a name on the side of the saddle. "Dusk, is that your name?" Stella asked while looking at the horse, who lifted its head up and down in response. "Well, Dusk, your master is currently out due to fighting off a pack of wolves with me, so until he wakes up. Can you be a good horse and let me ride you once I can make a travois that can pull to carry him back to the mansion?" 

Stella asked. Dusk neighed and once again lifted his head up and down in response. Knowing now that Dusk would be helping them both home, Stella got back to work with the branches, still taking breaks to go into the cave to warm herself up. And to make sure Nemo was still breathing and that his injuries were still covered up, so no dirt got into them. She even used the remaining bandages to tie the branches together after cutting an indent in one branch and cutting the other branch to fit. Just to make sure they wouldn't fall apart on the journey home, once the travois was finished and tied to dusk's saddle. Stella cut down some pine tree branches and tied them on top of the travois. She then went into the cave and moved Nemo from the bed to his cape. She then picked up the blanket Nemo had slept on, walked out to the travois, and placed it on top of the pine branches. Once that was done, she went into the cave again. She started packing down all the things she had brought with her, carried them outside, and placed them near dusk. 

Once everything was outside, Stella looked towards the last task remaining. To get Nemo out of the cave on the travois and home. As she walked into the cave and approached him, she thought about how to move him without jostling him too much. She finally got an idea of how to do it and kneeled down next to him with the last piece of the makeshift wraps. Once, she had gotten the shirt back on him and tied his cape back on. Stella then carefully tied his hands together. she then, while holding his hands, positioned herself, so she sat in front of him. With her back to him, she pulled on his hands, making him sit up and place them over her head and around her neck. she then reached behind herself and placed her hands under his knees.

Once she had a good hold on them, she started to stand up. Stella had to hunch over a bit to make sure that Nemo's hands wouldn't strangle her; Stella then slowly started walking outside. when she finally stood in front of the travois, she turned around and lowered her knees until she heard the slight creaking of the travois carrying the weight of the young man. Stella then held his hands as she carefully lifted them off her neck and back over her head. Once his hands were free, Stella then gently laid him down on the cover of pine branches and started to secure him to the travois. when he was safe and secured, Stella went into the cave, lit the lantern that she had brought with her, and hooked it onto a wooden staff she had made. Stella then threw wet soil onto the remaining embers of the fire, and with the lantern staff in her hand, she walked out of the cave over to Dusk and quickly got on the saddle. Holding the reins with one hand, she signaled Dusk to start walking home, dragging the travois behind him with the rain pouring down over the three of them. 

~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~{}~ 

"They should have been back by now," Julia said as she was pacing back and forth. Giles, who was in the middle of pouring some tea for himself, and the small group of servants that had gathered in one of the smaller sitting rooms, that were facing the back of the estate, looked up and calmly said. "I'm sure there is a reason why they are not back yet, Miss Julia, so please sit down and have a cup of tea with the rest of us before you wear a hole in the carpet." 

At this point, Julia had stopped pacing and was looking out the window, hoping to see any sign of the young lord and Miss Stella. Still, the heavy rain was making it hard to see. And after a few moments, she gave up trying to spot them. And walked over to the sofa, sat down, and accepted the cup of tea that Giles was offering her, and started drinking it while listening to the other servants. As she was finishing her third cup, she heard yelling from one of the other servants about seeing movement and a small light coming from the darkness of the forest. Julia, Giles, and the other servants Quickly ran to the back patio where they saw the little light slowly getting bigger and bigger. Showing itself to come from a lantern hanging from a stick that a very soaked Stella was holding all the while riding Dusk, who was dragging a travois behind him.

And there on the travois laid Nemo, severely injured halfway drenched but still alive and breathing. "We were attacked by wolves, and Nemo took the most damage. I did what I could, but some of his injuries may be infected. Please get him inside and get a Doctor or a healer." Stella cried out as Giles then gestured to some of the male servants to carry Nemo inside. He then told a stable boy to get Toto the Doctor and healer of the mansion as Nemo was being brought indoors. Giles was about to get inside when he heard Julia scream. 

Giles quickly turned around just in time to see Stella falling from the saddle. She was thankfully caught by Julia. The latter upon seeing how little clothes Stella was wearing. Grabbed the blanket that had fallen from the travois and covered her with it. She then called over some of the female servants. One of the other maids placed her hand on Stella's forehead but quickly pulled it back, exclaiming that the young woman was running a high fever and that she needed help. The other maids quickly picked up Stella and hurried her inside with Julia following close behind. Giles told one of the remaining servants to get Dusk to his booth in the stable and then to tell the others who were not helping Stella or Nemo to get some sleep. He then walked towards Nemos room, hoping that they would both make it through the night and the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont own the cat returns or the characters from it and i dont get any profit from this its only for fun  
> oh and i added a reference to another movie in here see if you can find it


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